At school, we all fear the demon called maths. This is a common disease that every child and his parent complain while coping up with it. When problems, percentage and ratios in arithmetic, theorems of geometry, algebraic formulae, trigonometry, logarithm, calculus, statistics keep gnawing in at our grey matter, we know it’s time to press the panic button. But the subject can be real fun. The huge turnout at the annual Maths Olympics every year is a striking testimony to this feel-good notion. The gamut of Mathematics can be surprisingly “mathemagic” too.
Mathematics is not merely confined to the mindboggling matrix of methods and derivations. It measures beyond the perimeter of accounting, auditing, evaluation, sharpening of skills, techniques, propounding theories and assumptions too.
“It’s a cliché that we always associate the rough ridges of maths with the bespectacled geeks and gadget freaks. Maths is more of calculative precision than pain, accuracy than a mental assault,” says Gaurav Tekriwal, president of Kolkata-based Vedic Maths Forum which is devoted to spreading math education across the world.
The concept of maths and computation is deeply rooted in our Indian culture. The ancient maths wizards and astronomers namely Aryabhatta and Varahamihira’s major contribution to this arena is indelibly commendable.
Tekriwal, disciple of the 145th Shankaracharya of Puri, the head of the mathas (monasteries) in the Advaita Vedanta tradition, aims to cast the magic spell of Vedic Maths all over the globe by the time he turns 60. “That’s my ultimate target. I’m a man with this mission solidly chalked out on the blackboard of my mind. I’m just 30 now,” he says.
The 143rd Shankaracharya, he says, had originally founded the concept of Vedic Maths and then his book based on sutras (laws) was republished in 1960.
The Vedic Maths Forum is expanding from strength to strength. “We are now co-ordinating with about 200 people abroad. Till date, we’ve distributed our maths pills in the US, the UK, Kenya, Botswana, Mauritius, Angola, Australia and New Zealand. Our purpose is to create a chain reaction with the gift of maths to every pupil of each nation and ring in a change in the society,” he says.
The dearth of maths education puts a particular country in a tight spot, says Tekriwal.
“According to the recently released TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) report on maths trends, India is positioned on a high pedestal of standard mathematics. That’s why we have so much of brain drain and outsourcing in the Western belts from India in the sectors of science, technology, research and engineering,” says Tekriwal.
Before taking plunge into the choppy waters of the Proteas, Tekriwal and his team did an extensive scrutiny of the South African educational market. “The country still has to come out of its much-censured racial rut,” he says.
African schools like the Kwa Zulu Natal, Halala Primary, Emaxulwini Primary, Hamarsdale, Durban and other 9,000 reputed academic institutions have implemented the “Speed Indian Method” to transform the face of their math education. As a result, the efficiency got enhanced, the speed rate was improved, less time was consumed and faster calculation was correctly achieved. “The South African Maths System was a national crisis, with a startling 72 per cent failure rate. The kids were taught to calculate with the help of sticks and circles that would take hell lot of time to finish a single counting procedure. Even the textbooks at lower levels lacked the fundamental concept of fractions and multiplication of two digits to impart the first step of maths application to the pupils for better progress. This jeopardy aggravated some other problems. And, gradually, it snowballed into economic deficits as the country was unable to produce a batch of skilled professionals into various fields, including engineering and management. To redress this lacuna, the South African administration, in its yearly budget, has ear-marked over 165 billion rands (national currency) to focus on raising the numeracy and literacy bars in the country. Now, education, especially the discipline of maths, has been accorded the topmost priority on the government’s agenda,” he says.
After the South African expedition from March 1 to March 19 and workshops conducted in Dubai, the man with a thing for maths now sets his sight on Iraq, Malaysia, Nigeria, Kenya and Bangladesh in 2010. “Life is but a struggle. If I can light up some lives in some lone, isolated corner, then my objective will be fulfilled for sure,” he says.